Next chapter! Let's get this show on the road.

Like how it always was with them, Tate saw her before she saw him. She was sitting on top of the of the jungle gym with her knees tucked under her chin. He could tell from the pants she wore that she was in her pajamas. She had a hooded jacket wrapped around her and on her feet were the same chuck taylors. Her hair was an untidy mess of volumous curls. She was staring at the moon, wringing her small hands and chewing her lower lip. She was worried.

"I'm here," he said, anouncing his presence. Julie turned and scrambled about until she was on the ground and running to him. She leapt at him, taking him totally by surprise as she burrowed against him in an embrace.

"I'm glad you're ok," she said.

He slid his arms around her, not sure what else to do. "Thank you."

She pulled away and took a step toward the street. "Shall we?"

Tate nodded, and fell into step with her. They walked around in silence for a while until she broke it. "What's going on, Tate?"

He hadn't been prepared to talk yet, so he said the first thing that came to mind. "Why don't you ever want to go home?"

She stopped and looked at him as though he'd punched her in the gut. "What did you say?"

He felt uncomfortable. "Well, we're always talking about me and my problems. I thought for a change we could talk about your problems."

"You are the one who called me," she snapped defensively. "I came because of what I heard at your house!"

Julie took a few steps away and stood with her back to him for a long while. He watched her look about as though she wasn't trying to see anything and sighed heavily. He walked up to her and gently put his hand on her shoulder.

"I'm sorry," she said. "I understand if you don't want to talk about what happened. We can talk about it when you're ready."

"I'll just go," Tate said, and turned to leave.

"No," he heard Julie say, and felt her grab his sleeve. He looked down at her hand first, then up to her eyes. He let her pull him towards her. "You asked me a question, and I'll answer it."

When he was by her side she let him go, wringing her hands instead. She started walking again and Tate moved with her.

"I don't like being at home," she said softly. Her eyes were trained some place far away in front of her. "I love my mom. She is my best friend, but she hasn't had the greatest luck with guys. My mom and dad weren't even friends anymore by the time I was born, so she's always tried to find some guy to complete our family. Mom has dated alot of guys. Some have touched me, and some have hurt me, and every time that happens, we move away and try to start over. Mom really loves her new boyfriend, but she doesn't see how he really is. She works at night, so it's me and him at the house most of the time. He calls me an evil little monster, and tells me I ruined my mother's life. It doesn't matter what I tell my mother; she's too in love to leave him, and for once I feel... I don't know, like I'm where I'm supposed to be. So instead of staying where I'm always sad, I leave, and walk until life isn't so bad anymore. And I get to help you. Aren't you lucky?"

Tate's heart broke a little for her. How could anyone think Julie was a monster, when she'd been the victims of so many monsters herself? He felt like a spoiled child again, crying about problems he didn't have. He wanted to help her, but he didn't know how.

"It's a filthy goddamn world," he said. He gently touched her back.

Julie looked at him with eyes shining with unshed tears. She smiled and exhaled. "No, it really isn't, Tate. That's the thing. Sure, there's disease and poverty and violence, but there's also hope and joy and love. You just have to be brave and remember that those things exist."

"How?" he asked.

She wrinkled her nose in thought as she stared at him. "Well, it doesn't come easy. You just have to think. Like right now, a woman is bringing a baby into this world. A man is spending his last night as a single man. A kid is dreaming about something lovely; a world where there is no dark. An old married couple is shuffling somewhere together, hand in hand and just as in love as they were the moment they met. Some one is planning a future so bright, that their entire life until that point will be a dull memory."

"High school will be just a blip in the timeline," he said softly.

Julie smiled and nodded. "Right."

The rest of the night they walked together; close enough to touch but not doing so. Tate didn't know much. He didn't know how drive. He didn't know how to speak Spanish. He didn't know how to play tennis. But as the sun rose over the hills, he knew one thing: that he would love Julie Gray until the day he died.

I hope you enjoyed it. Remember: I'm a writing machine and I run on reviews. Thanks for reading :)